How Does An Intellectual Life Develop?

I recently shared the news of my appointment as editor-at-large for Fair Observer, an international publication of hard news, analysis, and discourse read in over 90 countries. Here’s the thing – the contributing writers are a collection of current and former prime ministers, retired diplomats and intelligence officers from the likes of the CIA and MI6, professors, and noted authors.

I am incredibly honored to call the leadership team and this fantastic collection of bright and trail-blazing minds my colleagues.

And now the work begins.

Maybe it is because it is now public or just a natural next step. Still, I am falling into conversations whereby the main character isn’t necessarily someone like you or me. Instead, the focal point is a concept of collected experiences and works coalescing into the fluid notion of intellectualism.

I recently had a Zoom conversation with a bright fellow across the pond who is an educator at a Harry Potter-like all-girls private school. We connected through a mutual colleague who shares a love of possibility and connectedness between education and the developing world. I came to find that my new friend’s pursuits include a new and evolved chapter for him and his family – one that will take him outside of formal education and into a world of advancement through educational opportunities in places not showcased through digital screens or flashy posts.?

A deep conversation unfurled about intellectual curiosity, assumptions from our perch in the Western world, and opportunities to expand impact across disciplines. We said our goodbyes and exchanged thankful follow-up emails. That was several hours ago, and I continue to think about the title of this newsletter: How Does an Intellectual Life Develop?

The easy and lazy answer would sidle up next to opportunity and occupy some configuration of resources present or readily available to the one seeking intellectual stimulation. In this country, we are embarking on a terribly messy and globally embarrassing political season, not one pitting name against party, but in truth, intellectualism against feigned interest or the pejorative – ignorance.

If we are to embrace the meaning or intent of intellectualism, then we are poised to subscribe to rationalism – the isolation of knowledge deliberately, purposely without emotion. As I type, I can feel the neurons constricting around my constitution that celebrates the power of emotion in storytelling, human connection, and hope for that that we have yet to realize or experience. I feel as if I’ve ventured into unchartered waters for myself. I am reminded that the path less taken yields horizons yet to be discovered.?

Many of us will be faced with a choice – to discuss the winds of the political season with our friends, families, and colleagues, let alone our children, for those of us who are parents and face division, or wave the white flag of apathy in avoidance of anxious encounters.

I might contend that emotion has highjacked our ability to think, to distill information, not the facts, as the very notion of fact in our lives has fallen under the branches of crises, and further that we are out of practice. Our growing acceptance of apathy and diluted interest in the structures that define our opportunity have outpaced our history of debating to build intellectual fervor and resilience.

So, as I embark on uncovering the stories of global newsmakers and bastions of democracy around the world, I wonder out loud how all of you will think about educating the next generation on the pillars of personal constitution and shared borders of union. The opportunity remains to forge futures for impending leaders who currently care more about semesters than political maps and adulterated bluster.

Let’s allow the stories of our past and accumulated histories to convey lessons learned, not battles won. Intellectual development requires sustainable storytelling practices, not digital bloodshed marked by levels of volume vacant of any substance of reality. ?

USA TODAY

To parents of kids with anxiety: Here's what we wish you knew

Anxiety can be deceiving. Without even realizing it, you could be treating the symptom and not the cause.

By Quincy Kadin | Opinion contributor

Dear parents,?

I have navigated anxiety for as long as I can remember, going back to not being able to raise my hand to talk in preschool. I would get stomach aches or feel my heart racing, but I didn’t know why. These feelings escalated until, at 12 years old, I went to therapy, allowing me to learn coping skills. Now that I’m 17, I realize many of my peers felt just like me.?

Your child may be struggling with anxiety, as 32% of teens have anxiety disorder. It is hard to see your child suffer and not know what to do. You want to help, but your instincts may be making their anxiety worse.?

As a person who has suffered from anxiety for many years without knowing what was going on, these are the questions that I wish my parents would have asked from the beginning.?

Am I seeing symptoms of a physical or mental health problem??

You want to be able to help your child in tangible ways, especially when they are hurting. Your immediate reaction is to take the pain away. But what if your child isn't simply experiencing physical pain? What if there is a deeper issue going on?

Read the rest of the article in USA Today

Upon Further Review - A Look At My Interview with Quincy

I will have an upcoming podcast episode exploring the issue of teenage anxiety with author Quincy Kadin. We are seeing more and more breadcrumbs emerge, hinting at a systemic problem and an intergenerational one.

Fortune Magazine recently published an article entitled, 'Gen Z and young millennial employees are missing the equivalent of one day's work every week due to mental health concerns, research shows.' The article dives into the economic slide of the British economy and the correlation to intermittent outputs due to missing work. The cost to the British economy is a staggering $176 billion!

Research suggests that while employers are doing a better and more comprehensive job of offering wellness options to their employees, take-up needs to be higher.

The irony is that over 80% of those who utilize the support services offered found them helpful.

The courage it takes a teenager to not only identify her struggles, let alone author a book to support even younger children, speaks to both the boldness and potential scope of the problem. Stories of old that segmented lives between professional and personal are no longer sufficient for generations of students, workers, and leaders.

Whether a school offers surface-level counseling from departments overloaded with course scheduling and bureaucracy or a company upgrades wellness options without authentic and persistent storytelling, the results are eerily the same: disconnected knowledge workers and students looking for connection and community.

I look forward to exploring these themes with the bold and intelligent Quincy Kadin, and I encourage folks to check out her book!

I began this newsletter by examining the origins of intellectual life as we submerge ourselves into the murky waters of the presidential campaign season. There isn't a concrete answer to the question. The concept of individualism hints at a balance of thought that isn't swayed by emotion.

It might seem counterintuitive for someone who loves the power of story to represent or hint at prose without a foundation in emotion. That would be short-sided.

The structure of the discussion should start with the story because the story orients our place, our experienced value, and contributions to families, friends, places of work and passion, and communities. Our ability to feel connected to the story and stories we occupy and generate allows us to ingest outside information, analyze, and dispense wisdom as intellectuals.

The younger generations are expressing the challenges we have unwittingly or purposely placed in front of them in multiple story forms for us to process. We must take the time to 'read' their stories, analyze our assumptions and potentially outdated practices, and pivot to a more thoughtful, knowledge-based response.

It is our responsibility to clear the runway of past discretions and missteps for the next generations to grow and develop as intellectuals who embrace stories to build connections and assess the unknowns of the future.

Lastly, thank you for checking out my newsletter, 'Upon Further Review,' and I encourage you to subscribe!

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Fear not – stories forgive…stories embrace…and stories ignite. Let your story be the accelerant to the culture-defining moments before you. – Dr. Rod Berger